9:00 a.m. A. Call to Order The CLEAR Plan 2030 Consortium meeting was called to order by Ms. Maddox.

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1 Minutes CLEAR Plan 2030 Consortium Meeting Gadsden State Community College, Joe Ford Center, East Broad Campus, 1 st floor conference room, 1001 East Broad, Gadsden, Alabama Tuesday, January 8 th, 2013 Members Attending: Chair Jennifer Maddox Mayor Charles Merkel Mr. Curtis Simpson Ms. Debbie Adair (Representing Ms. Margaret Morton) 9:00 a.m. Mr. Jack Plunk Mr. Jim Friend Mr. Meinrad Tabengwa Dr. William Meehan Observers: Mr. Johnnie Aycock Ms. Susan Carter East Alabama Regional Planning Commission Staff Present: Mr. Bill Curtis Ms. Robin Caler Ms. Ashley Myers A. Call to Order The CLEAR Plan 2030 Consortium meeting was called to order by Ms. Maddox. B. Meeting Minutes The motion to approve the minutes from the December 11th, 2012 meeting was made by Mayor Merkel and was seconded by Mr. Freind. Motion carried. C. Livability Resource Team Reports Each of the teams presented a report: Community Engagement, Transportation, Health, Housing, Economic Competitiveness and Education (see attached). D. Consortium & Livability Resource Teams Composition Next Ms. Maddox spoke about the Consortium and LRT composition. Cleburne, Coosa, Randolph, Tallapoosa, Chambers, Cherokee counties are not represented on the Consortium. The February 1 st Chamber of Commerce Event was discussed as a way to reach more counties. At the event we can focus on Cleburne, Randolph, Clay, and Coosa County; trying to recruit membership for the Consortium. However, Cherokee, Tallapoosa, and Chambers Counties are not a part of the regional Chamber event. CLEAR Plan Consortium Meeting Minutes 1 January 8 th, 2013

2 Mr. Freind said there are a couple of people who are on the Economic Competitiveness LRT, which could be good Consortium members, including Ms. Thereasa Hulgan from the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce. He will talk to Mayor Merkel about it later. Mr. Simpson said activities in Chambers County rely pretty heavy on Opelika or Georgia. Perhaps Becky Benton, his counterpart, in Opelika can find someone from Chambers County. Mr. Freind said Chambers County is going to be extremely hard. Ms. Maddox said maybe we only need one person on the Consortium from Chambers County, so there is at least one connection. Mr. Curtis said the East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission will look at who they have worked with in the past and see what contacts they have. Ms. Maddox proposed at the February 1 st meeting we will focus on Cleburne, Clay, Randolph, and Coosa. We will try to get someone from those Counties to join the Consortium. And Mr. Curtis will look into finding someone from Tallapoosa and Chambers Counties. E. Chamber of Commerce Event 2/1/13 The CLEAR Plan 2030 has an eight seat table, so the Consortium needs to decide who will be representing the project. F. CLEAR PLAN 2030 Timeline Ms. Maddox presented the 2013 timeline of what must be completed by the end of the year. She pointed out the first row is of particular importance because it says between now and the end of April, we are going to hold County Conversations with at least one in each county. Round two of conversations will be in each county, will be based on initial thoughts from the first conversations, and will happen over the summer. Based on feedback we will create the draft plan. And then we will have one meeting to present the draft plan. We must finish recruiting team members by the end of the first round of conversations. The studies each of the teams are working on have to be done by August; ideally they would be done before the second round of conversations in June. Every Thursday between now and the end of April, we will be holding a County Conversation. We need to have at least one Consortium member at each of these events. This Consortium member will give the LRT update for all of the teams. Mr. Aycock will be doing the meetings, but we should have representation. Mr. Aycock is going to talk to the Chambers to pick a date that works for them. G. CLEAR PLAN 2030: Talladega County Conversation Ms. Maddox discussed the draft agenda and how it fulfills grant requirements. She asked what would be best; do the visioning exercises individually or in small groups? CLEAR Plan Consortium Meeting Minutes 2 January 8 th, 2013

3 The Consortium provided thoughts regarding the agenda. It was decided round table discussions with a report out at the end would be most effective in providing ownership to thoughts. Ms. Carter said if you want to keep with the fifteen minute timeframe, we will need to have a moderator to keep people on track and focused. H. Survey Distribution Plan Ms. Maddox discussed the survey distribution plan and spoke about the number of surveys completed and the percentage of the goals for each county (see attached). Ms. Maddox asked each Consortium member to take them to any meeting they attend and ask attendees to fill them out. If you keep them together by group, the results can be segregated out. We need to have the surveys done by August, ideally by May. Ms. Maddox solicited ideas for distribution. Dr. Meehan said now that class is back in session something for JSU could be set up. Ms. Caler said we spoke with Dr. Maureen Newton about getting the link sent out to JSU students. Ms. Myers said Dr. Newton was going to look into the IRB process for the survey as well. Dr. Meehan said maybe we could get something for the staff, faculty, and students. Ms. Carter said the Community Action Agencies could be good because they are doing the heating and cooling program right now. Perhaps they could fill out the survey while they are doing their paperwork. I. Next Meeting Date The next meeting will be on February 12, 2013 at 9 am at the Cleburne Mountain Center. J. Adjourn CLEAR Plan Consortium Meeting Minutes 3 January 8 th, 2013

4 Community Engagement Livability Resource Team REPORT January 8, 2013 Accomplishments - Additional surveys completed - Created agenda for County Conversations - Created Dates for all County Conversations - Media: o Article in Anniston Star dated 12/11/12 o Appearance on TV24, Northeast Alabama Today end of December - Created CLEAR PLAN 2030 Project Timeline In Progress - Monthly LRT meetings - Survey distribution - CLEAR PLAN 2030: Talladega County Conversation planning - Commissioners appointing LRT members - Communications plan development - Contacting media Need Help - Survey distribution - Talladega Conversation o Attend 1/24/13 event in Talledaga o Help advertise & encourage attendance - Attend 2/1/13 Chamber event at Talledaga Speedway - Consortium and LRT member suggestions Future Plans - Finish Survey, disseminate results, analyze with LRT s - Host CLEAR PLAN 2030: County Conversation (for each county) - Execute communications plan

5 Transportation Livability Resource Team REPORT January 8, 2013 Accomplishments In Progress Collection of data to be incorporated into Transportation study Collection of data to be incorporated into Land use study Expanding LRT membership to include more municipalities and planning commission members Promoting Livability Survey Need Help Data for both land use and transportation study Shape files for Regional maps Future Plans Transportation survey of residents in the region Identify policies to promote livable transportation and land use for promotion to local governments in comprehensive planning and zoning Identify strategies to address regional transportation needs identified by citizens through the Livability Survey and Transportation Survey The next Transportation LRT meeting is scheduled for 10 am, on January 22, 2013 in the Small Conference Room at the Gadsden Chamber of Commerce, at 1 Commerce Plaza.

6 Health Livability Resource Team REPORT January 8, 2013 Accomplishments Conducted one meeting (January 2, 2013) in which Regional Health Analysis was prioritized for development In Progress Expanding LRT to include representation from all municipalities and counties Regional food assessment Promoting Livability Survey Identifying existing programs/policies/projects in place throughout the Region to address health issues Need Help Expanding LRT to include representation from all municipalities and counties Data for local level health statistics Future Plans Identify strategies to achieve goals of LRT for submission to Consortium Connect health and education resources to

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9 CLEAR PLAN 2030 Livability Readiness Survey As of January 7, 2013 County Total Population % of Region's Population 1% 1% Goal Surveys Completed % of Goal Complete Calhoun 118,572 25% 1,186 1, % Chambers 34,215 7% % Cherokee 25,989 6% % Clay 13,932 3% % Cleburne 14,972 3% % Coosa 11,539 2% % Etowah 104,430 22% 1,044 1, % Randolph 22,913 5% % Talladega 82,291 17% % Tallapoosa 41,616 9% % Totals 470, % 4,705 5, Total Started Survey: 518 Total Finished Survey: 453 * Note: Numerical difference due to people not completing the survey after entering data in county field January 7, 2013

10 2013 CLEAR Plan 2030 Complete Project Timeline January February March April May June July August September October November December January Conversation 1 Conversation 2 Revise/Adopt Final Plan Livability Visioning + Survey Possible Plan Scenarios Create Draft Plan Conversation 3 Presentation to Due 1/31/14 Individual Counties Compile Scenarios Individual Counties (including Conversation 1 & 2 results Draft Plan EARPDC Needs local (Consultant) (Consultant) and study findings) Counties Together Board/Public govt adoption (Invite Mayors, Councils, Commissions, LRTs) (Invite Mayors, Councils, Commissions, LRTs) Written public involvement strategy (Consultant) Present Conversation 1 to EARPDC Board/Public Recruit LRT Members (especially the traditionally marginalized populations) Present Conversation 1 report/results to EARPDC Board/Public Present study findings/strategies to EARPDC Board/Public A report summarizing the region's needs, shortcomings, and shared values as gleaned from the regional visioning exercises, public meetings, and website (Consultant aided) Livability Resource Teams Working on Studies (Studies include transportation, affordable housing, land use, equity, and environmental) Consortium will conduct meetings at which partners will discuss housing, transportation, land use, equity, and environmental issues across the region LRTs and Consortium will identify barriers/specific strategies for sustainability Consortium will work closely with LRTs to finalize findings and strategies to address specific hindrances to livability Consortium will create well reasoned recommendations for better aligning existing regional plans Local government rural and small community input will be gathered and utilized (EARPDC) LRTs create a sustainability report on barriers, strategies, and benchmarks to present to the Consortium EARPDC Board review final plan Report recommending strategies to better align existing regional plans (Consultant aided) Consortium will invite mayors/council members to participate on the Consortium, LRTs. Consortium will provide continuous encouragement for the involvement of local governments and the traditionally marginalized communities in the Conversations From CLEAR Plan 2030 Grant Application The consortium will assess existing conditions and project trends in the region through a series of studies to be conducted concerning the following issues: Affordable housing Public health Regional transportation Employment locations Land use Senior services Environmental conditions Water infrastructure Current Livability Resource Teams Housing Economic Competitiveness Education Transportation Health Community Engagement January 2013

11 CLEAR Plan 2030: Talladega County Conversation 2 nd Draft 6:00 2 min Welcome and Introductions (Hosting Org MC) 6:02 5 min CLEAR Plan 2030 Overview (Consortium Member) 6:07 15 min Livability 101: What is livability? PowerPoint (Johnnie Aycock) 6:22 15 min Visioning Exercise (Johnnie Aycock) Small Groups of 3 to 5 Purpose of this is to let residents of the Region have a clear voice about what they want to see for the future of our region. We need your input about your region. o What do you love most about living here? Think of your top three things that you love about your community, or that make it a special place to live. o What do you think needs the most improvement and what should we do to address it? Think about what keeps you up at night, or what you might like to fix or address. o What do you hope to see in your community five years from now? Think about what your kids, your grandkids, or your neighbors will experience in the future and describe what that looks like. 6:37 5 min Group Reports on Visioning Ideas (Consortium Member) 6:42 10 min Livability Readiness Survey (Consortium Member) o Complete survey 6:52 10 min LRT Current Activities Summary (Consortium Member) Create Handout 7:02 15 min Get Involved (Johnnie Aycock/Hosting Org) o Ask for help with survey o Ask for volunteers for Consortium/LRTs o Ask how to go forward in their county o Ask if we should have a CLEAR Conversation elsewhere in county 7:17 5 min Next Steps (Consortium Member) o Helping complete the County goal of surveys o 2 nd Conversation this summer will include results of today s visioning session, survey results, and possible plan ideas based on feedback o Sign up for LRT o Meeting feedback form 7:22 Adjourn *Fulfill visioning, survey, and livability seminar requirements